Chicago family sues Lutheran General over infant death

A Chicago family is suing Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge over the death of their infant son.

The wrongful death lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court, states that the 40-day-old Genesis Burkett, born prematurely on Sept. 6, 2010, was given an excessive dose of sodium chloride, causing fatal injuries.

Burkett's health was improving daily until he was given an intravenous bag on Oct. 15 containing roughly 60 times the dose ordered by the physician, according to plaintiff's attorney Patrick Salvi of the Waukegan firm Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard.

The infant went into cardiac arrest and died. The hospital has since admitted multiple mistakes were made, according to a written statement from Salvi.

“Genesis Burkett should be a happy and healthy 6-month-old boy at home with his family today,” Salvi said in the statement. “The innocent infant died of malpractice, plain and simple, and we intend on proving it in court. My office is firmly committed to obtaining substantial compensation for Fritzie and Cameron Burkett for the loss of their beautiful son and to do everything possible to make sure something like this never happens again.”

In a written statement, Advocate Health Care spokeswoman Kelly Jo Golson said “a data entry error was made in the formulation of the IV solution” administered to Burkett.

“Genesis was cared for in our neonatal intensive care unit for more than a month,” Golson said. “He passed away after a hospital process error led to an incorrect concentration of sodium in his IV fluids.”

Golson said Burkett's family was informed immediately once the hospital realized the mistake.

“This event has only heightened our focus on patient safety,” she said. “We have taken comprehensive steps across Advocate to ensure this type of tragedy does not happen again. As a healing ministry, our top priority is to provide the highest quality of care. Our prayers continue to be with the family of Genesis Emanuel Burkett as they mourn the loss of their son.”